When Ilia Topuria suffered his first professional defeat to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, Islam Makhachev took no time to mock Topuria on X and aired out their old rivalry.

The rivalry intensified last year, when Makhachev defeated Jack Della Maddalena to capture the UFC gold in a second weight class. Topuria criticized the Russian MMA artist.

So, right after Topuria's loss, Makhachev twotted, "To quit in the biggest fight of your career - is something not everybody can do. Real Le Layenda".

However, the Russian MMA artist Islam Makhachev not only showed his competitiveness through his tweets, but he also dropped an intense training video just after UFC fighter Ilia Topuria was defeated on the ground at UFC Freedom 250 by Justin Gaethje. 

The timing was no accident—Makhachev's response came within hours of his rival's stunning loss.

On June 15, Makhachev shared a video on his Instagram handle, captioning “⚔️.” In the video, he was seen indulging in a grueling, intense practice session. He was seen doing movements like:

• Practicing side kick on a padded training dummy
• Foot work
• Shadow boxing 
• Punching 
• Countering practice
• High kick practice on the opponent
• Intense sparring practice
• Heavy bag punching 
• Shoulder throw.

At the end of the video, the current UFC Welterweight Champion was seen resting on a wooden bench with gloves on, catching his breath. 

The time of the video makes it more interesting. The former UFC Lightweight Champion shared this video just after his rival Topuria's defeat. In fact, upon Topuria's loss, he went to X and wrote 

“He who exalts himself will be humbled! There are levels in this game!” 

and also congratulated the winner by stating,

 “ Congratulations, Justin, you deserve this belt more than anyone!” 

Makhachev didn’t just stop there and continued mocking Topuria upon his loss, and also accused him of quitting on the stool, and wrote 

“To quit in the biggest fight of your career – is something not everybody can do. Real Le Leyenda.”

Although there is no update on when the two rivals will face each other, Makhachev is training hard to stay ahead in the game.

Islam Makhachev’s training 

On 17 November, 2025, a YouTube channel named “GH UFC WORKOUTS” dropped a video titled “Inside Islam Makhachev’s Brutal Training System – The Routine That Built a Champion.”

In the video, the presenter breaks down the full training methodology and reveals his Dagistani-inspired training routine, which includes:

Morning routine 

• Long-distance running/hill sprints/steady cardio
• Sambo-based drilling (practices hip throws, foot sweeps, body lock, chain wrestling )

Afternoon training

• Grappling rounds (top-pressure rounds, scramble drills, cage wrestling, submission chains)

Session with Javier Mendez

• Pad work
• Kick timing drills 
• Feint patterns 
• Shot entries off punches

Evening routine

• Grip strength
• Rope climbing
• Core pressure drills
• Endurance circuits
• Balance and coordination work

Recovery session

• Ice bath
• Massage
• Stretching 

Makhachev trains hard with his old-school Dagestani discipline, smart modern conditioning, and sambo fundamentals to stay ahead of the rivals.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil